𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 - JJ Maybank

Chapter 106: My Lover's The Sunlight

The moment they arrived at Poguelandia, JJ was quick to tug Grace along towards their room, barely letting her catch her footing with how eagerly he was moving. When he decided she wasn't going quickly enough, he scooped her up into a bridal carry. To his delight, his uncoordinated movements pulled laughter from her chest. She had been mostly silent on the ride home, only pitching into the buzzing conversation every so often, and JJ was desperate to get her alone to cheer her up.

When he tossed her down onto their unmade mess of a bed, she erupted in giggles, making him grin like a Cheshire cat as he followed her down. His lips quickly met hers, swallowing her laughter up. Their kiss was a mess of clashing grins and giggles. 

The feeling of delirious joy was reminiscent of when they were kids playing hide-and-go-seek with Ricky. There was something about having to be silent that always pulled giggles from little Grace and JJ's chests as they huddled up together in a cabinet or under a bed. Just like when they were kids, there was nothing truly funny going on; in fact, they both had absolutely exhausting and stressful days, yet they were overwhelmed with happiness. Maybe it was their bodies overcompensating for the simmering anxiety, or maybe it was the pure relief from being reunited.

Either way, when JJ's fingers danced up under Grace's shirt, her laughter faded into a small, contented smile.

"You need a shower," Grace murmured as JJ's lips nibbled at her neck.

He let out a giggle into her skin that was so unmanly that he knew John B would've mocked him for years had he heard it, but JJ couldn't find it in himself to care. Something about being with Grace again had him giddy. The longest they'd been apart was when she'd been in Nassau, but it had been months since then. Months of spending every waking and sleeping moment side by side, and now being apart for more than a couple of hours felt unnatural.

"Mhm, you wanna join?" he hummed into her neck.

Grace's hands were hard at work untangling his saltwater-saturated hair as she nodded. If he were a cat, he'd be purring. He took a second, revelling in her touch before scooping her up again, just as gently as the first time.

JJ kicked open the bathroom door and set his lover down on the counter. He pecked her on the lips, quickly making her beam at him. He returned the smile before removing himself from her to flip on the water to start heating it up. He eagerly returned like a magnet and cradled her hands in his, lips fluttering over her forehead, then each cheek and her nose before landing on her lips once more.

It was soft, and it was sweet, and it was one of the many reasons Grace loved JJ. Sure, he was reckless, but he was gentle. He always had been with her; body and heart. She adored it. She adored him.

When JJ pulled himself away from her lips, his gaze shifted to the hands that were resting in his. His brows furrowed as he lifted them to examine her swollen and purple knuckles. One of them was particularly angry and had clearly bled at some point. "What happened?" he asked, eyes still locked on the damage.

She shrugged absentmindedly. "I punched Luke."

The blonde's eyes widened almost comically as he rapidly looked back and forth between her bruised hands and her proud grin. "What? When?"

"Some point between you throwing a chair through the window and getting tackled onto a cop car."

Smoothing his fingers over her knuckles as if the touch would heal the wounds, JJ's grin grew to match hers. "God, I love you."

Just as quickly as the last syllable escaped his mouth, he'd planted his lips on hers. This time the touch was far more urgent, bordering on desperate. Any of the softness from seconds before was replaced with pure desire. He loved this girl with his entire being and was reminded every day why. She'd swung a punch and flung a Molotov at a boat for him. He knew he worried her often, yet she was always there, ready to join in on the chaos to bail him out.